Author: Kat Gillham

Rami Jämsä and Convulse have thrown out another curveball with this new album (and fourth full-length overall) but this is not the first time these unpredictable Finns have done so; they followed up their straight-ahead death metal debut ‘World Without God’ with the groove-laden, quirky, hard rockin’ ‘Reflections’ … Read More

Doom rock legends The Obsessed (Maryland, USA), led by the infamous Scott “Wino” Weinrich (Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls, The Hidden Hand and W.I.N.O.), formed in 1976. The band have split up and reformed numerous times, first splitting in 1986 when Wino joined Saint Vitus, but reformed four years … Read More

Legendary German thrashers Exumer (who formed in 1985) have returned to the scene with their fourth album ‘The Raging Tides’ (their second since reforming in 2008). It’s a fierce slab of energetic Teutonic thrash metal that showcases a band clearly firing on all cylinders, sounding rejuvenated with new blood in … Read More

Although having only formalised a line-up and commenced rehearsing in January 2013, Sheol have already made waves; their ‘Live Demo MMXIII’ and mini-album ‘Sepulchral Ruins Below The Temple’ proffering some particularly vicious and cavernous blasts of prime, unholy death metal or, as founding member A.B.S describes it, “sepulchral death … Read More

This is a reissue of the debut album of Abomination, the death/thrash project of Paul Speckmann who is more well known for his work with legendary Chicago bands Master and Death Strike.

The ‘Abomination’ album is a much more thrashier affair musically although the easily recogniseable harsh and gruff … Read More

This latest album from the Swedish five-piece is an intriguing one and a definite slow grower that demands multiple listens to let the myriad of riffs and melodies sink their claws into you and embed themselves into your subconscious. But once you do spend some time with it you will find it swirling … Read More

Italian masters of occult horror doom metal Abysmal Grief, who formed in 1996, have reissued their latest album ‘Strange Rites Of Evil’ on cassette via Horror Records and after seeing them at Roadburn Festival where they stole the crown “band of the weekend” (according to our editor, Louise) we needed to interrogate … Read More

Occult Burial deal in ripping and raw black thrash, which at times musically sounds very much like early Kreator, early Sodom and early Destruction. In fact there’s a strong Germanic vibe running throughout this debut album by these Canadians, although the vocal attack is more black metal than Black … Read More

One of our favourite new bands (well, they formed in 2006), Black Oath perfectly meet at the cursed crossroads of misanthropic Peaceville death/doom, ancient NWOBHM and, of course, their Italian homeland’s rich history of occult rock. Obsessed with their latest album, ‘To Below And Beyond’ (just released on cassette … Read More

Gothenburg-based heavy metal maniacs Night Viper are the one of the latest heavy metal exports to come out of Sweden and have released a debut album that is an energetic affair. The up-tempo ’80s heavy metal of early Maiden and Priest collides with the galloping speed metal of ‘Kill ‘Em … Read More